[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 173 (Monday, December 9, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING AHN MIRA AND SEAN RYAN HALPIN ON THEIR WEDDING IN SEOUL, 
                                 KOREA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 9, 2013

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the wedding 
ceremony of Ms. Ahn Mira and Mr. Sean Ryan Halpin held earlier this 
fall, on September 14, 2013, in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The couple 
met during Sean Halpin's current service as a first lieutenant with the 
Special Operations Command--Korea (SOCKOR), United States Forces Korea.
  Ms. Ahn is from the distinguished Ahn family of Haeju City, South 
Hwanghae-do Province, currently in North Korea. The Ahn clan of 
Hwanghae-do is remembered historically for their several family members 
who took leading roles in the independence movement during Korea's 
colonial occupation.
  Ms. Ahn's paternal grandfather came to the port of Pusan, in South 
Korea as a refugee during the Korean War. Her family currently resides 
in the port city of Incheon where her father, Ahn Jaeman, is the 
principal of the top-rated East Incheon Middle School and her mother, 
Kim Kyunghee, is the devoted mother of two daughters.
  Sean Halpin is from a family that has served the United States for 
more than a century. His paternal great-great-grandfather, Captain 
Patrick Foley, an immigrant from County Kerry, Ireland, served in the 
23rd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry (``the Irish Brigade''), 
fought under General Philip Sheridan in the last major Civil War 
battle, the siege of Petersburg, and was present at Appomattox Court 
House for the final surrender.
  His paternal great-grandfather, Dr. Thomas P. Foley, of Chicago, 
Illinois, served as a medical officer with the United States Army 
during the First World War. His grandfather, Thomas J. Halpin, was a 
captain serving with the 88th Infantry during the liberation of Rome in 
the Second World War. His father, Dennis P. Halpin, served with the 
United States Peace Corps in Korea, the U.S. Department of State, and 
the U.S. House of Representatives as a professional staff member of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs. Sean's loving mother, Mina Chuok (nee 
Pak) Halpin, is originally from Pusan, Korea.
  For historical purposes, I submit this statement to be part of the 
Congressional Record in recognition of the union of Ahn Mira and Sean 
Ryan Halpin, and of the distinguished service provided by their 
families to their respective countries.

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